The items focus on conferences, workshops, training courses and other events organised by FAO, other UN agencies/bodies and the 15 CGIAR research centres. The events cover all food and agricultural sectors (crops, forestry, fisheries/aquaculture, livestock, agro-industry) and a wide range of biotechnologies (e.g. use of molecular markers, artificial insemination, triploidisation, biofertilisers, micropropagation, genomics, genetic modification etc.). The news and event items on this website are also disseminated through an e-mail newsletter called FAO-BiotechNews that is published in six different versions, one per language i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. To subscribe, send a message to FAO-Biotech-News@fao.org indicating which e-mail addresses are to be subscribed and in which language they wish to receive the newsletter.

Events

A workshop organised by the Institute for Advanced Studies, in Caracas, and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, on behalf of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

This Advanced Course, jointly organised by FAO and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), also covers the use of reproductive technologies and molecular markers in conservation. It caters for a maximum of 25 professionals with a university degree who are already directly involved in the subject matter of the course. The deadline for applications is 15 August.

An international workshop, organised by the Fondazione per le Biotechnologie, the University of Turin and FAO, that aims to focus and spread significant results obtained through the application of marker assisted selection, as well as to discuss advantages and drawbacks of molecular marker application to crop and animal breeding, with particular emphasis for the benefits of developing countries. Deadline for registration has been extended to 10 October.

The symposium considers the application of gene-based technologies in four main areas a) animal genetics, breeding and reproduction b) animal health c) animal nutrition d) environment and food safety. Organised by the Animal Production and Health Section of the FAO/IAEA Joint Division for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Those wishing to present a paper should submit a synopsis of not more than 800 words by 10 April 2003.

The symposium, which aims to "assess the state of the art and science of plant breeding and future prospects for this activity", is organised by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Iowa State University, United States.

This course (in Spanish) on detection methods for GMOs in the food chain is organised by the United Nations University/Biotechnology for Latin America and The Caribbean (UNU/BIOLAC) programme, created in 1988 by an agreement between the Government of Venezuela and the UNU, and the Instituto de Estudios Avanzados (IDEA), Caracas.

The conference is hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and aims to provide input to the discussions at the SBSTTA-9 (the 9th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, scheduled for November 2003) and COP-7 (the 7th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in 2004). The conference programme covers a wide range of topics associated with capacity building and technology transfer, including capacity development in biotechnology.

The conference, which includes a plenary session on wheat biotechnology, aims to review the current status of wheat research in the Central Asian region and develop a forum for information exchange and cooperative activities. The organisers include the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) - two of the 16 research centres supported by the CGIAR.

The symposium aims to "review progress in taro research, analyze needs and priorities, develop a strategy for future work in taro research and development, explore new ways to use genetic diversity and improve taro quality and production, and stimulate international collaboration, information exchange and networking". The symposium themes include the use of novel technologies to improve taro (a staple crop, important in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, West Africa and the Caribbean). Organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, FAO and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD).

This international colloquium for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and its partners is organized by ICRISAT (the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), CIAT (the International Center for Tropical Agriculture), ILRI (the International Livestock Research Institute) and ISNAR (the International Service for National Agricultural Research) - four of the 16 research centres supported by the CGIAR - and the CGIAR Central Advisory Service on Intellectual Property. The purposes of the colloquium include to "share experiences and lessons from working in alliances that cross-conventional boundaries in order to exploit biotechnology for development" and to "develop an action plan through which the CGIAR can support the emergence of a new architecture for innovation that would help exploit biotechnology for pro-poor development".

This symposium is being held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and the Soil Science Society of America and is co-organised by FAO, the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project, Michigan State University and the CSSA. The sponsors include the organising institutions, the United States Agency for International Development and the World Bank. The Symposium aims to "provide opportunities for technical and policy experts to explore a global strategy and action plan to harness biotechnology to improve food security and alleviate poverty through multi-stakeholder cooperation".

CropLife Asia is organising this conference, in association with a host of organisations, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which "will examine the role that two technologies agricultural biotechnology and information technology- can play in achieving sustainable agricultural development".

The event is being convened by the Group of 77 "in order to bring together representatives from government, the scientific community, civil society, the business sector and other stakeholder groups to formulate a South-South strategy for the execution of initiatives in the field of science and technology". The conference programme includes a workshop on biotechnology (28 October).